


Checking In

by kibasniper



Series: Honorary Tales [17]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Mornings, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Canon, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 03:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17675198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibasniper/pseuds/kibasniper
Summary: It's a peaceful day in Morocco when Hot Spot receives an early morning call from Robin.





	Checking In

Hot Spot gazed down at the city. He watched children dart down the streets with their mothers chiding them. Vendors sold a variety of goods, and the fresh scent of baked bread and citrus rose to his window from local carts. Tourists inspected different kinds of plates, urns, and shawls, and workers stacked wooden crates filled with more goods for patrons to marvel at with their bills twisting between their fingers. 

The hustle and bustle of the city made him smile. It was nice seeing peace so early in the morning. People swerved around one another, their footsteps clacking against the hard, cracked cement. Not one of them seemed to have a care in the world as they went about their day.

It also meant he didn’t need to rush out to stop any early-rising criminals. Thieves were common in his neck of the woods, but from his vantage point, he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Smiling faces below him left Hot Spot with a weight off his shoulders as he stepped back into his flat.

Stretching his arms to the ceiling, he arched his back until it cracked. Heaving out a sigh, Hot Spot was ready to go out on his morning jog when a familiar beeping jarred his senses. He jerked his attention to his waist and found his Titans communicator vibrating and buzzing against his hip. Unclipping it, Hot Spot pressed the red button and watched Robin’s face fill the tiny screen.

“Hey, Hot Spot! Good morning in Morocco.”

He rolled his eyes. “Man, what time is it in Jump City? Like midnight? Past midnight? Shouldn’t you be getting some shut eye?” Squinting, he brought the communicator closer to his face. “Are those dark spots? Yeah, you got dark spots so bad that I can seem them under your mask.”

A hint of pink painted Robin’s cheeks. “Oh, can you?”

As Robin tried lowering his mask, he smirked. “You don’t have to call me every morning. I’m doing fine.”

The pensive look crossing Robin’s expression made Hot Spot’s lips quirk into a frown. Since the Brotherhood of Evil’s defeat, Robin had been calling him more often. They were mostly friendly chats and the occasional request for him to help a fellow Titan out, but the frequency of his calls became routine. Almost every morning, Robin called him. It was the same basic setup with Robin asking him how he was doing, if he needed anything, and always ending with Hot Spot telling him to go to bed.

“In fact, I’m so good that I’m peachy. You know that I know it’s late on your end when it’s morning here.” Hot Spot leaned against his window and glanced up to the puffy clouds dotting the sky. A humid wind brushed by his neck and through his curly hair. “There’s been no trouble lately since Madame Rouge reared her ugly head.” He sighed, the memory of her deceiving him still fresh like an open wound. “Glad she’s outta our lives.”

“For good hopefully. The Doom Patrol’s been keeping a close eye on their frozen trophies.” Robin flashed a pearly white grin. “I don’t think they’ll be bothering us for a long time.”

“Unless they somehow break out.”

His comment slipped out of his mouth with involuntary speed. Grimacing, Hot Spot watched Robin’s brow furrow and lips purse into a frown. He tugged his collar and swallowed, knowing he flicked a negative switch in their casual conversation.

Nagging fear lurked in the back of his mind. He worried Madame Rouge would return and prey upon the trust issues she instilled through her deception. She had been the one villain, a true monster, who beat and belittled him. She tricked him too many times in the span of a chaotic hour, trying to undermine his sense of reasoning with her cruel orders and fists. 

He just couldn’t beat her, and she knew that. She sneered at his attempts and utterly destroyed him in combat and mental warfare. Taking advantage of him, twisting his thoughts, Madame Rouge tormented Hot Spot until his very last breath before the icy blast silenced him.

“Madame Rouge isn’t going to come after you again. You don’t have to worry about her ever again,” Robin said, pulling Hot Spot’s gaze away from the rooftops of buildings with chipped paint.

He grit his molars but not hard enough for them to crack. It was a dull pressure that cemented him to their conversation. He focused on Robin’s face. There was no trace of stretched skin or any accent coating his words. This person was certainly the Robin he had come to trust as the leader of the Teen Titans with his earnest confidence and reassurance.

He had no reason to doubt him. Madame Rouge was frozen in place. She couldn’t hurt him even if the hesitation lingered in the back of his mind.

“I know. It’s just…” Hot Spot sucked down a breath. “...a little hard to sleep at night, y’know, thinking she’ll come back around and-wait a minute.”

Robin bristled. “What is it? Is something-”

Breaking into a grin, Hot Spot waved his finger at the screen. “You got me almost ready to dive deep into my worries when it’s probably past midnight on your coast. Go to sleep or I’m flying over to put you in a headlock so tough that it’ll conk you right out.”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “That’d be a pretty long flight. I bet you’d take an afternoon nap halfway through the trip.”

“Better than flying commercial.”

They shared a short laugh. Hot Spot relaxed, his growling stomach reminding him get some breakfast. Evidently, Robin heard it as well and nodded.

“Take it easy, Hot Spot. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will after you’re rested. Thanks, Robin.”

“No problem, and if you can’t reach me, then any of the other nearby Honoraries can help. Over and out.”

He watched the screen cut to black. With the call over, Hot Spot tossed his head back and sighed. It was nice having someone caring for him even if it bordered on coddling. Robin wasn’t someone who babied anyone, choosing to treat everyone with respect unless that bond had been altered in some way.

His encounter with Madame Rouge was a battle that still haunted his dreams, but he was grateful for Robin reaching out to him. It gave him security, an opportunity to destress and talk openly about his turmoil. Even if he felt like Robin was pampering him at times, Hot Spot still appreciated Robin’s efforts to ensure that he knew he was safe. Clipping his communicator back in place, he set out to make breakfast and hoped Robin was settling in for a well-deserved slumber.


End file.
